Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The Electoral Fortunes of Taiwan's Green Party: 1996-2012

Fell, Dafydd; Peng, Yen-wen

Authors

Yen-wen Peng



Abstract

The Green Party Taiwan (GPT) represents an important case both for scholars of environmental politics but also Taiwanese politics. Established in 1996, it is the oldest Asian green party and is one of the most active parties in the Asia-Pacific Greens network. The party has enjoyed mixed electoral fortunes. After promising early election results, the GPT virtually ceased contesting elections between 2000 and 2005. However, from 2006 the party began a gradual revival in its vote shares. This process culminated in the January 2012 Legislative Yuan election when the GPT surprised many observers by coming fifth in the proportional party vote. Considering the limited resources at the party's disposal this was quite an achievement. In this study, we examine and explain the changing electoral fortunes of the GPT since its establishment in 1996. We are interested to see whether standard theories for explaining small or ecological party success, that have been developed in western Europe, work well in the Taiwan context. Our research is based on a range of new fieldwork conducted between 2012 and 2014. These include in-depth interviews with campaigners and party leaders, focus group sessions with party leaders and candidates, and interviews with party supporters.

Citation

Fell, D., & Peng, Y.-W. (2016). The Electoral Fortunes of Taiwan's Green Party: 1996-2012. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 17(1), 63-83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109915000390

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 23, 2015
Publication Date Mar 1, 2016
Deposit Date Nov 5, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 2, 2116
Journal Japanese Journal of Political Science
Print ISSN 1468-1099
Electronic ISSN 1474-0060
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 17
Issue 1
Pages 63-83
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109915000390
Keywords Political parties, Taiwan, small parties, Green Party

Files

This file is under embargo until Mar 2, 2116 due to copyright reasons.

Contact outputs@soas.ac.uk to request a copy for personal use.






You might also like



Downloadable Citations